Spanish police were today continuing to search for a British woman who disappeared after her seven-year-old daughter was severely injured in a fall from a fifth-floor hotel balcony in Mallorca.

Gianna Cooper, who plunged nine metres (30ft), remained in a serious condition in hospital on the Mediterranean island. She was taken off the critical list after undergoing surgery for severe head injuries, a broken jaw and a ruptured liver.

Her mother, Sara, has not been seen since the fall at 7.30am yesterday. Police were searching the eastern part of the island for her and were monitoring ports and airports.

A police spokeswoman said: "We are looking for the mother but at this stage we do not want to speculate as to whether she was involved.

"We are searching for her in the area of Calas de Mallorca, which is an area containing mountains and beach."

Gianna, who was believed to be on holiday with her parents and two brothers, was in intensive care at the San Dureta hospital in Palma, the island's capital.

The incident took place at the Hotel Samoa, in Calas de Mallorca, on the east coast of the island, 38 miles from Palma. The three-star hotel has more than 300 rooms over eight floors.

Humphrey Carter, a journalist with the Majorca Daily Bulletin, said the family, from Cambridgeshire, had rented two rooms in the hotel.

"It looks like the mother was at the hotel when the girl fell and has disappeared since then," Mr Carter said.

The girl was reported to have been playing in one of the two rooms occupied by her family when she fell. Her father, Ian, and two older brothers were in the other room at the time.

A police spokesman said: "We have spoken to the girl's father. What we have ascertained is that the family had booked two hotel rooms and the mum was in one with the girl and the father in another with her two siblings.

"But we won't have a clearer picture of what happened, and what has led her to disappear, until we locate the mother."

The police did not confirm the names of those involved.

When paramedics arrived, the girl was still conscious, though seriously hurt. She was taken to Manacor hospital, from where doctors hoped to transfer her to the San Dureta hospital. This was not immediately possible, due to the seriousness of her injuries, and she was transferred only once her condition had stabilised after a three-hour operation.

Police have used a helicopter to search the island for her mother. Forensic police have searched the hotel rooms and inspected the area where the child fell.

According to reports, the child was found by a group of hotel cleaners who had been alerted by her crying around 10 minutes after she fell. One witness said: "I was working nearby and heard her crying. First of all, I thought it was an angry child. Later, I thought it was an sick child ... it was a strange, piercing cry."

The Foreign Office confirmed that it was aware of an incident involving "a British national, a minor, who fell from a balcony".